News Features

Is the nation in the midst of an unheralded political realignment? The big news in this election cycle is the rise of the Tea Party. Fair enough. But passing under the radar is an accompanying development that could have even more far-reaching consequences — the rise of an emboldened third force in our politics.

Massachusetts has more Independent voters — and candidates — than ever. Will they ever make a difference? There's a message in how Governor Deval Patrick and Charlie Baker laugh off Tim Cahill's venom in the gubernatorial debates: neither Republicans nor Democrats are sweating their Independent rival in the 2010 election.

Can I get a witness The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts made a pronouncement last week that, to rational citizens, should be obvious: it's a bad idea for the state to be complicit in a scheme to pay criminal trial witnesses for their testimony — and for those witnesses to receive a bonus if the defendant is convicted.

Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell might not turn out to be good candidates, but they make great television Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell might not turn out to be good candidates, but they make great television.

The renovated Paramount Center gives Boston a new intellectual anchor Connoisseurs and casual consumers this season will enjoy two debuts that will instantly redefine the depth and breadth of the Boston arts experience.

Old Colony Correctional Center has been plagued by suicide, overcrowding, and brutality — and things are only getting worse On a winter evening around 11 pm, the former superintendent of Old Colony Correctional Center walked into a Rhode Island restaurant with a gun in his pocket.

Why Massachusetts' correctional system hasn't gotten any better From the beginning of her tenure as commissioner, Department of Correction (DOC) commissioner Kathleen Dennehy clashed with union loyalists intent on maintaining the status quo.

Glenn Beck’s rally on the Washington mall was scarier than you’d like to think Washington, DC — Glenn Beck maintains that he didn't purposely schedule this "Restoring Honor" rally on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. I say bullshit.

The BP spill is shattering hopes and dreams along the Gulf Coast. On a windy Tuesday afternoon in New Orleans, Clara Gerica is in her usual spot: beneath a small, blue tent at the Crescent City Farmers Market in the well-to-do Uptown neighborhood.

Interview: Former Army colonel and current Boston University professor Andrew Bacevich explains why staying is a big mistake For several years now, I've been reading Andrew Bacevich's articles and books that argue for a reimagination of how American government conceives of and executes foreign policy.

Pot radio blows outta Boston Nestled in an unsuspecting downtown loft, a radio station swirls with pot smoke. Six days a week, unregularradio.com burns up listeners' ears with a mix of local music and comedians.